Preview: Coventry City vs Charlton Athletic - prediction, team news, lineups

Cantering towards the Premier League in sensational style, Coventry City will look to make Charlton Athletic their latest victims as the two sides clash in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.

The Sky Blues picked up a statement success at the home of Middlesbrough earlier in the week, whilst the Addicks suffered another defeat, this time against Stoke City in Staffordshire.

Match preview

After over two decades away from the top-flight spotlight, Coventry City are doing everything in their power to guarantee a return to the Premier League in 2026, with the East Midlands outfit stretching their winning run to four matches with success at Middlesbrough earlier in the week.

Missing a couple of key attacking players, Sky Blues duo Ellis Simms and centre-back Liam Kitching stepped up to the goalscoring plate on Teesside, both bagging brilliant braces to secure a 4-2 victory at the expense of Kim Hellberg's troops.

Winning 10 of their last 11 matches in the second tier and showing no signs of slowing down on the road to the Premier League, Coventry are sitting pretty at the very summit of the Championship rankings, a mammoth 10 points ahead of Stoke City and Boro in second and third respectively.

After conquering Middlesbrough on their own patch last time out, Frank Lampard's men are the only side in the division who remain unbeaten at their home ground this season, with the Sky Blues netting a stunning 22 goals across eight fixtures at The Coventry Building Society Arena.

That being said, it appeared as if Coventry's exceptional run in the East Midlands was set to crumble last weekend as Aune Heggebo fired West Bromwich Albion into a two-goal lead, but the league leaders showcased their powers of recovery, staging a complete second-period revival to win 3-2.

After the positivity surrounding May's playoff triumph and the promising start to this season, Charlton have experienced their first major struggle in some time recently, with the Addicks losing three straight league fixtures for the first time since October 2024.

Although the defeats in themselves will be of concern to head coach Nathan Jones, it is the manner of the losses that are setting off alarm bells at the London-based club, with the Addicks conceding nine goals during the wretched spell.

Following a five-goal drubbing at the hands of Southampton last weekend, Charlton were no match for promotion contenders Stoke at the bet365 Stadium on Tuesday night, when Sorba Thomas was involved in all three goals for the in-form Potters.

Winning just one of their last six second-tier battles, the Addicks have dropped down to 16th spot in the Championship standings ahead of Saturday's daunting trip to Coventry, four points behind Preston North End in the lowest of the playoff positions.

Due to Charlton spending the majority of the decade to date in League One, this weekend will witness a first meeting between the two clubs since December 2018, when a last-minute effort from midfielder Tom Bayliss secured maximum third-tier points for Mark Robins's Coventry.

Coventry City Championship form:

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Charlton Athletic Championship form:

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Team News

Leading the Championship's Golden Boot race with 10 goals, Coventry star Brandon Thomas-Asante is sidelined until late December because of a hamstring injury.

The Sky Blues' options in attack are limited further by the absence of Haji Wright, who is recovering from a hip problem.

Starting on the bench last time out at the Riverside, Ephron Mason-Clark should be promoted to the first XI to replace Thomas-Asante.

A hotshot for Leyton Orient in League One last season, Charlie Kelman's start to life at Charlton has been hindered by a muscle injury.

A knee problem will deny Matt Godden the chance to face his former employers this weekend, with the veteran striker featuring over 150 times for Coventry between 2019 and 2024.

Coventry City possible starting lineup:

Rushworth; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Kitching, Dasilva; Torp, Grimes; Sakamoto, Eccles, Mason-Clark; Simms

Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:

Kaminski; Ramsay, Jones, Gillesphey; Bree, Coventry, Berry, Docherty, Campbell; Leaburn, Carey